On March 27, 2021, the Beta Zeta Chapter at the University of Florida brought back their “KAtch em All” fishing tournament to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Brothers and guests gathered at Newnan’s Lake, just East of Gainesville, Florida, to compete in the tournament sponsored by Sodium Fishing Gear. For just $30 per person, participants received a shirt, had the opportunity to win prizes, and got to enjoy an awards ceremony and crawfish boil to celebrate the occasion. In the end, the chapter was able to raise $6,000 to help give children and teens with MD the opportunity to attend MDA summer camp.
“Beta Zeta used to do a fishing tournament called “KAtch” for a few years and all the proceeds went to Dance Marathon at UF,” John Zielinski said. “We switched to another philanthropy event for Dance Marathon but a few friends and I saw an opportunity to bring this back.”
Several years had elapsed since the last fishing tournament, the chapter needed a strong team to pull off the planning and execution of the event. The chapter relied on John Zielinski, ’18, Deme Capitano ’18, Andrew Wise ’18, and Chris Douglas, ’18 to make it all happen.
“All of the students who once hosted the event had graduated so we where really starting from the ground up, John Zielinski added. “Luckily we had generous donations from families and local Gainesville businesses and where able to raise $6,000 for MD. In a year of covid and not having any real guidance we where ecstatic with the results.”
